At the Old Haunt
by Caskett Milla
Summary: It is a fill.
Hi, I put the prompt at the end.

It hurt. It hurt so badly.

All loved ones leave her eventually.

Leave her back in her all too well known darkness.

Alone.

Every time she started to believe she finally found some happiness all her hopes burst at ones.

Not again.

She wouldn´t be able to survive it again.

Royce was the first one who understood her.

He was the only one, who would understand why she was so driven.

Her trainee teacher was her saving anchor.

Every time she was drowning he would save her.

Now, who was she without him.

No one.

Kates inner grieve was unbearable.

If only he had told her earlier that he would leave for Californian.

If only she had told him that she still needed him.

But she was too preoccupied to prove herself as the best yet again, that she lost the human factor out of her sight.

Kate was tired of being alone. Tonight she couldn´t go home.

Once again she just wanted to forget about her lugubrious life.

Tough the swore to herself she never would drink while grieving she just wanted to go into some bar and forget for a few hours.

She stopped in front of a vintage looking bar called "THE OLD HAUNT".

"Perfect",she thought.

This bar was way too classic for cops, so no danger to be caught by her colleagues when she was falling apart.

When she entered it, first thing she recognized was the quaint flair.

A piano man was playing some jazzy tunes and the walls were full of old pictures.

She let her eyes roam the room. Not many people were there.

There was a couple in the back, a group of most definitively underage students in a booth in the corner and a man sitting at the bar. He was drinking alone.

Kate walked over to him.

"Is this seat taken?",she asked and smiled artificially at him.

"No.",the man returned her false smile and glued his eyes back to his glass in his hands.

The officer watched him down his drink and order another one.

She ordered one herself.

She didn´t talk to the man or to anyone else.

Hours later she felt dizzy,warm and happy. It felt like she was not on earth.

Her so well trained sense was not working anymore.

The man next to her went home a little while ago and everyone else left way before him.

It was only her now.

Her and the bartender.

"Lady,can I call a cab for you?"

Kate did not recognized him at first.

"Miss?!"

"Naw.",she sounded drunk already.

"Come on Miss. We share a cab.",the bartender told her again.

He was worried about her well beings,unless he didn´t relly know her.

Then he mumbled: " That way I can make sure you are home safe."

He helped her to stand up,but as soon as she stood she started wobbling.

So the man swept her up and carried her out of the bar.

Kate giggled. That was so not her.

The moment she sat down in the cab her eyes closed and she fall asleep.

"Really? Ok, so my guest room it is."

Normally he wouldn´t just take anyone to his loft, especially not when his daughter was home.

But this woman was different. Something of her made him want to know her, to take away some of her obvious pain.

Her story was what fascinated him,he felt so inspired by her.

This night he did not went to bed. No, this night he started to write again.

He wrote with pure pleasure again, the first time after moth maybe even years it did not fell like work to him. It was fun again.

First thing she felt was the pain in her head. Her eyelids still heavy.

She moved and buried her head in the cushions.

They smelled different then hers.

 _Oh Lord,what did I do?!,_ she thought.

She tried to open up her eyes and mentally prepare herself to see a man lying next to her.

When she finally opened them there was not a man next to her but a little red head girl.

She sat only inches away from her face and inspected her closely.

 _Why is there a little girl? What am I supposed to do?_

"Hi, I am Alxis. Who are you?",the red head asked.

That was way too much to handle.

Where was she, what did she do last night?

"Morning, I am Kate." It sounded more like a question.

The woman thought for a second and asked then:" Where are your parents?"

"My Mom is in California and my dad is downstairs in his office,working."

Good,so she maybe just could sneak out. That way she could avoid more embarrassing and humiliating situations.

"Come on, I show you where you can find him." The little girl hopped off the bed and took Kates hand. There was no way of escaping the little girls grasp.

 _And there goes the plan of just sneaking out._

Alexis lead the woman to her fathers office.

"Dad,that is Kate I found her in the guestroom."

The moment Alexis dad looked up Kate felt like she was still dreaming.

No way her favourite author was the father of that little girl still holding her hand.

How did she ended up here?

Everything was still blank.

"Hello Kate.",he smiled at least he now knew her name.

"I am Rick. I was at the bar yesterday. I am the bartender and well ,owner."

"Oh." was the only thing she could say.

"Thanks, I guess."

He was still smiling and suddenly she felt the urge to explain herself.

"I ...ehm. It was a rough day yesterday and everything at the station fell apart. Normally, I don´t do things like yesterday. But I just wanted to forget."

"I understand. But Station? What is it what you do?"

"I am a police officer. Well, they just accepted me for detective."

"So then you are a detective? That is soo cool. So you catch bad guys and killers."

Rick was like a little child at Christmas.

"Well, I won´t be a detective for another year or so. I have to wait until an other retires. And it is not like in the movies. Mostly paperwork."

"Still,you are with the police. That is sooo cool."

"Dad, I am hungry." the little girl interrupted his excitements.

"You staying for breakfast ?" Rick asked her.

"Please.",the little girl begged.

"Ok." she was surprised about herself,but those two made her feel like she might not have to return to the darkness again.

They were hope.

Thanks for reading

Fill : post/141094419178/castle-already-owns-the-old-haunt-already-pre

"Castle already owns the Old Haunt already pre meeting. Kate is there getting hammered over the fact Royce has up and left her. Castle tries to help her get home but when she passes out on him he has no choice but to take her home with him to his guest bed. Where Kate wakes up the next day with a major hangover and freaking out that a tiny redhead is sitting on her bed two inches from her face and saying "Hi! I'm Alexis! Who are you?""


End file.
